Competing in horse shows can be stressful for both you and your horse. Trailering, changes in routine and exposure to new environments are all major stressors for horses.

But with a little planning, you will feel more confident heading into the ring and be able to focus on performing and having fun.

In preparation for show day, give your horse ample opportunities to practice loading onto the trailer and travelling to new locations. This will help your horse arrive at your competition in a calmer state.

Practice, visualization, warm-ups, video and detailed packing checklists can also help you plan better for your next show.

Below are 14 tried and true tips from an FEI dressage coach and trainer to help de-stress your show days for both you and your horse.

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14 Tips for a Successful Show

1) Practice Loading your Horse

Whether you are heading to a dressage show for the weekend or loading at the crack of dawn for an 8 AM class, a horse that doesn’t load easily and reliably adds real pressure to the day.

On horse show weekends, you are always working on someone else’s schedule.  This can include your shipper, your ride time or your coach’s time. Whatever the case may be, a loading issue will make you and your horse feel stressed.

Stressed horses are at higher risk of injury during transport. Stress during trailering and competition also increases the risk of gut health issues, such as colic and ulcers. [1]

By training your horse to load and travel with ease, you can avoid this being the worst part of your day and minimize stress. [2]

2) Take your Horse Off Property to School

You don’t want to find out how your horse responds to new places and experiences for the first time on a show day. Give your horse lots of experience with being in new locations to help you feel more comfortable at competitions. 

Start with small outings – especially if your horse is young, inexperienced or new to you. Your first trips need to have good outcomes so that your horse has a positive association with trailering.

Once you have sufficiently practiced loading and your horse is comfortable being enclosed in the trailer, take your horse for a short trip around the block. 

After your trip, give your horse time to relax in a calm, familiar environment. Give them free-choice access to appropriate forages and provides electrolytes to address any dehydration that may have occurred during the trip.

The next step is to trailer them to a nearby farm.  Walk them around the property and let them graze. Bring plenty of treats to make this a relaxed and happy experience for your horse.

Ideally, take your horse on several outings and slowly introduce new experiences such as asking them to work at a new location. If all goes well you can practice your tests away from home.

You also want to familiarize them with potentially scary things they might encounter at a horse show, including flags, umbrellas, bicycles, and golf carts. 

It can be helpful to expose your horse to some of these novel items while at home so they are less likely to be overwhelmed when they are off property.

The key is to take small steps so that each experience builds positively on the previous one.

3) Use A Caller

Use a caller to read your dressage test and practice together before your competition. Callers are allowed except at the highest levels of competition.

Callers can also help comfort a young or nervous horse by placing a friendly face at the side of the ring, particularly if there are any ringside objects that you think will be intimidating to your horse.

This trick can help smooth your horse’s introduction to the show ring.

4) Memorize your Test

Horse shows can be noisy environments, the weather can be unpredictable and many factors are outside of your control. Having a caller is great, but you don’t want to be thrown off your game if the wind is particularly loud and you can’t hear what the caller is saying.

Memorizing your test before the show will ensure that you don’t panic if you can’t hear your caller. Memorization will also make it easier to focus on your riding since you will only need your caller as a backup.

When memorizing your tests, start by recognizing patterns. In most cases, what you do in one direction will be the same in the other direction.

Look at the test breakdown and learn where each movement begins and ends. This will help you adjust in case something doesn’t go as planned in the ring.

For example, you don’t want a late transition to bleed into the next movement and cause you to lose points in two movements. It is also important to know which movements have a coefficient of two so you can try to really nail them!

5) Practice your Test

Practicing your test ahead of your show day may seem obvious, but this step is often neglected.

Practicing your test from beginning to end will help you decipher which movements are difficult and what to work on leading up to the show. Ample practice will give you confidence ahead of your competition that you can complete each of the movements with relative ease.

This will also help you plan for how to ride your test.  Memorizing your test with notes for each element can help you maximize your scores.

For example, you might want to make a mental note, “I really need to go into the corner after H to make sure I have good balance for my canter transition at C.”

Some additional things to prepare in practice include:

  • Which hand to carry your whip in
  • Which rein will you enter the ring on
  • Where X is in your periphery
  • How to salute properly
  • What you will do if your horse doesn’t stand at the halt

There is so much to learn by practicing your test. This preparation will help you feel calm and composed heading down the centre line.

6) Visualize your Test

Once at the show location, spend some time at the ring you will be competing in to visualize your test.

Start by memorizing the pattern in the space.  Once you have gone through the pattern in your head, think about the notes you made for yourself when memorizing your test.

Seeing each spot in the ring where you will make your preparations can really help you to set them in your mind.

Envision how you want your movements to look. Think of your horse’s frame, their expression, and how and where you can really show off what you and your horse are capable of.

There is a lot of power in visualization. Make sure it’s a part of your show day plan.

7) Compete at the Right Level

Your show days will go smoother if you compete at a level at which you feel confident.

A good rule is to compete at a level lower than what you and your horse are schooling at home.

You don’t want to head into the ring wondering if some elements are going to happen. Competing at the right level will help you have a positive attitude so you can feel secure in what you and your horse know.

Always remember that a show is not the time to train your horse. This is where you show off all the hard work you and your horse have done at home.

8) Plan Your Warm-Up

It can be tricky to plan your warm-up exactly because many factors are outside of your control! Start with a plan for ideal circumstances, including great weather, excellent footing and a relaxed horse.

You will need to know your ride time and organize your day backwards from there. Some of the things to keep in mind while planning your warm-up schedule include:

  • How long it will take you to get to the ring from the warmup
  • How long it will take you to make your final preparations for the ring, inlcuding putting on your jacket, wiping dust off of your horse, removing boots, etc.
  • What movements you need to practice before going into the ring
  • How long it takes to get your horse from his warm-up phase to his working phase
  • What your horse’s fitness level is and how long he can warm up for, knowing you need enough energy for a 5-7 minute test after the warm-up
  • How long it will take you to travel from the barn or trailer to the warm-up ring

Thinking through these details will help you choose when to get on your horse. After completing your ideal plan, you can then plan for less-than-ideal situations.

For example, unexpected weather may alter the amount of time you have available to warm up for your test. In hot and/or humid conditions, your 45 minute plan might have to be cut to 20 minutes.

Planning enables you to make your warm-up as efficient as possible, even when circumstances aren’t optimal.

9) Dress up for the Ring at Home

Try occasionally braiding your horse at home so you learn how long it takes to braid their mane. You can also make adjustments to the length or thickness of the mane to get the braids looking the way you want.

It is a good idea to try leaving your horse alone with braids in. The last thing you want when returning to the stall to get ready to ride is to find several of your perfect braids rubbed out! No one needs that kind of panic before heading to the ring. 

If your horse likes to rub their braids, you may need to bring a neck slinky or keep them tied or distracted with hay until you are ready to tack up.

Also try riding in all of your show clothes to make sure everything fits comfortably. Pa